Valverde is the perfect player to cover his defensive weaknesses
TAA is basically the prime example for the formation being much more than placing "the best RB" at RB, "the best CM" at CM, "the best CF" up front.
If you put Trent at RB and ask him to kinda play like Neville or like Maicon did, he will be horrible in many games.
But if you get him to play as a playmaker of sorts on the right, from a deeper position, to help out the right side of defence rather than ask him to be right side defence, he's shown to be very, very good. He was a great and unique playmaker for Klopp's playmakerless midfield from right back for many games and seasons. Now at Slot's he seems to slot in perhaps even better as a playmaking option when one of the other outlets can't be reached as much.
Slot really came in at the right time to utilize players like Gravenberch, Gakpo, Salah and TAA, and thus their newly discovered/recovered playmaking attributes. They don't all have to be in top condition, perhaps even none of them need to be. But it's very difficult to mark and block the main playmakers if there are more of them, and they synchronize well (enough), while not giving up depth of their possible outlets. Slot found himself with a nice mix of all-rounders that also look like specialists. Wonder what will happen if all of them leave.
TAA at Madrid makes sense, too, though. But I can imagine a vast difference between games where he's got Valverde and Militao at RCM and RCB, and ones where it's rather someone with Modric' legs and, say, Rudiger.
